AWARENESS OF TESTICULAR CANCER IN NEW-ZEALAND MEN

Testicular cancer is the most common malignancy in young men and is fr equently associated with delays in presentation. It has been postulate d that ignorance and poor awareness of this type of cancer may contrib ute to such delays, which may result in high stage disease and subsequ ent treatment-related morbidity. This study was undertaken to assess t he level of awareness of testicular cancer in a sample of 500 men from Wellington, New Zealand, and to specifically examine awareness relate d to the age, race, and socio-economic level of the respondents. Sixty -one per cent of men returned a satisfactorily completed questionnaire . Most (70%) were unaware that cancer of the testis could develop. Of those who correctly identified testis cancer as occurring, half recogn ized the most commonly affected age group, 40% understood testis cance r could be treated, and 14% believed testis cancer could be cured with treatment. The lowest awareness scores (mean +/- s.d.) were found in the 18-30 age group. The score in this group (2.82 +/- 1.47) was signi ficantly lower than that seen in the 31-40 (mean 3.66 +/- 1.81, P = 0. 009) or 41-50 (mean 3.57 +/- 2.16, P = 0.036) age groups. Differences were also seen between ethnic groups, with Maori having significantly lower scores than non-Maori (Maori, mean 2.69 +/- 1.52; non-Maori, 3.4 5 +/- 1.83; P = 0.044). Higher scores were associated with higher soci o-economic grouping. The overall poor awareness of men in this study s upports the need for a public education programme aimed at encouraging men to seek early advice following the recognition of testicular mass es.